A Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra will go a long way toward determining who makes the best Android phone. And Google is hoping a one-two punch will help it take down Samsung's premium flagship.
The company has already confirmed that the Pixel 9 Pro will appear at an August 13 Made by Google event, showing off the upcoming flagship in a quick teaser video. But that phone could have some company in the form of the Pixel 9 Pro XL, a bigger version of the standard Pro with a screen to rival the size of the panel on the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Two different phones may not be enough to overcome the Ultra, which is one of the best phones we've tested this year. In addition to a powerful chipset and long-lasting battery, the Galaxy S24 Ultra includes Galaxy AI features that rival the smarts found on any phone — Google's included.
To see who's got the better AI features not to mention the best device overall, we ran a Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra overview. We're using the rumored Galaxy 9 Pro features to form some initial impressions of Samsung's latest devices and comparing them pre-launch to what we already know about the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy S24 specs
Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra price and availability
After a $100 price hike from its predecessor, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is the most expensive smartphone that doesn't fold in two, with a starting price of $1,299. That's $300 more than Google's most expensive non-foldable, the $999 Pixel 8 Pro.
The pressure's going to be on Google to hold the line on that price for at least one of its rumored Pixel 9 Pro models. And there might be some good news on that front. While a rumor tips some Pixel 9 models to see price increases, at least according to leaked pricing for Europe, not every model will cost more than its predecessor. That would suggest the Pixel 9 Pro could come in at the same $999 as the Pixel 8 Pro, with the larger Pixel 9 Pro XL costing a little bit more.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra went on sale at the end of January. With the Made by Google event set for August 13, and the Pixel 9 Pro confirmed to be on the agenda, we'd certainly expect the latest Google flagships to be shipped before the end of August.
Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra design and display
When you're talking about the Pixel 9 Pro, you're really talking about two models, at least according to rumors about the new phone. Google is allegedly making the Pixel 9 Pro more compact, shrinking its screen size to somewhere between 6.1 and 6.3 inches, depending on which rumor you subscribe to. Alongside the Pixel 9 Pro would be an XL model, that would either match the 6.7-inch size of the Pixel 8 Pro or feature a slightly bigger 6.8-inch panel.
That latter size would match the Galaxy S24 Ultra's 6.8-inch OLED screen. Like the Ultra, we'd expect both Pixel models to offer displays with 120Hz refresh rates.
Brightness could prove to be the big battleground for these displays. The Galaxy S24 Ultra is rated for a maximum brightness of 2,600 nits, even though we only measured it at 1,363 nits when we tested the phone earlier this year. Pixel 9 Pro rumors tip both models to match the 2,600-nit brightness of Samsung's premium phone, so we'll see if that claim holds up once we get the new phones into our lab.
As for the design of these Android flagships, Samsung retained the same look as the Galaxy S23 Ultra while adopting new materials for its premium device. The S24 Ultra uses a titanium frame that makes the phone more durable and marginally lighter than before (8.22 ounces vs. 8.25 ounces). Samsung also went with a flat display to better accommodate the S Pen that comes included with the S24 Ultra.
The biggest potential change to the Pixel models involves a new look for the camera bars. Previously the horizontal bar has stretched across the back of Google's flagship phone, but Pixel 9 Pro images show a rounded-off camera bar that doesn't extend the full distance.
Rumored colors for the Pixel 9 Pro phones include black, white, green and pink. Those last two options sound a bit more colorful, matching the Galaxy S24 Ultra's options where two conventional choices (Titanium Black and Titanium Gray) are available alongside more vivid options (Titanium Violet and Titanium Yellow).
Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra cameras
The Galaxy S24 Ultra ranks highly among the best camera phones, and it's easy to see why. Samsung equips its top phone with a 200MP main camera that features larger pixels than previous Ultra models for better low-light performance. There's also a 12MP ultrawide camera and two telephoto lenses — one 10MP lens to support a 3x zoom and a 50MP shooter with a 5x zoom. That second lens arrived with some controversy, as it replaced a 10MP telephoto lens that could offer a 10x zoom. Essentially, Samsung traded away a larger zoom for better resolution on close-ups.
We're not expecting huge changes to the Pixel 9 Pro camera setup, at least in terms of megapixel counts on the rear cameras. Both Pro models are likely to have the same 50MP main camera as the Pixel 8 Pro. A 48MP ultrawide lens will also return, though reports suggest it will be a larger sensor than before. The same 48MP telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom that's on the Pixel 8 Pro should be a part of the Pixel 9 Pro setup, too.
As for the Pixel 9 Pro's front camera, it could get a significant megapixel boost over the current 10.5MP shooter. A rumor tips the new Pro phones to get an upgraded 50MP selfie cam with autofocus.
Hardware specs only tell some of the story with these camera phones, as AI-powered photo software plays a big role for both Google's Pixel phones as well as the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Samsung's phone added features like edit suggestions for improving your images, generative editing tools and a feature that adds slow motion to any video you capture. Previous Pixels have come loaded with tools for removing unwanted objects from photos and improving group shots with a Best Take editor for making sure everyone in the shot is looking their best. The Pixel 9 Pro is rumored to be getting an Add Me feature where the person taking the photo can insert themselves into the shot, along with a host of other AI capabilities. (We'll discuss those in a moment.)
Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra performance
The beefed-up AI features on the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL are made possible by the likely addition of a new chipset, rumored to be the Tensor G4. Google's silicon isn't known for its performance, though there's a report that improved thermal performance could help the chipset run more efficiently, improving both overall performance and power management. In addition, there's talk that the Pro models could get a boost in RAM to 16GB.
Even with those improvements, it will be hard to top the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 that powers the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Qualcomm's top-of-the-line silicon turns in terrific performance numbers, even topping the A17 Pro powering the iPhone 15 Pro models in some benchmarks.
Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra battery life and charging
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 inside the Galaxy S24 Ultra isn't just fast, it's also power efficient. And that helps the Ultra last a very long time on a charge — 16 hours and 45 minutes in our battery test, where phones surf the web over cellular until they run out of power. An average phone lasts 10 hours on that test, so the Ultra's result is very impressive, earning it a spot on our best phone battery life list.
Google's phones haven't done as well on that test, but recent models have shown some improved battery performance, so we're hoping to see that continue with the Pixel 9 Pro. The Pixel 8 Pro's battery test result fell right in line with the average time for smartphones, so there's definitely room for improvement. According to regulatory filings in Taiwan, the Pixel 9 Pro has a 4,558 mAh battery, which is a little bit bigger than the power pack in the similarly sized Pixel 8. The Pixel 9 Pro XL is tipped to get a 4,942 mAh battery.
That same regulatory filing hints at faster charging speeds for the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL compared to the 30W wired charging supported by the Pixel 8 Pro. The Galaxy S24 Ultra offers 45W charging.
Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra software
As noted above, AI features should be abundant on the Pixel 9 Pro, thanks to the new G4 chipset powering Google's phones. Rumored additions to the already impressive list of AI-powered capabilities include call recording with transcriptions, a workspace for generating images and the ability to search for screenshots saved on your phone by the content they include.
In the past, Pixel phones have set the standard for AI features, but the introduction of Galaxy AI capabilities with the Galaxy S24 lineup shows that Samsung is serious about this area, too. With your Galaxy S24 Ultra, you can get assistance with wording text messages, transcripts and summaries of recordings and searches powered just by circling images on your phone's screen.
Pixel phones usually have an advantage over other Android devices by featuring the latest version of Google's phone software before anyone else. We'd expect that to continue with the Pixel 9 Pro shipping with Android 15 pre-installed — the S24 Ultra likely won't get the update until later this year. That said, a rumor suggests that the new Google phones may debut without Android 15, something we have a hard time believing.
Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra outlook
Any Google Pixel 9 Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra comparison will come down to how the phones stack up against each other in taking pictures as well as AI features. From what we've heard so far about Google's upcoming phones, the Pixel 9 Pro and S24 Ultra figure to be evenly matched on both fronts. We can't wait for the Made by Google hardware event this month to find out just how many of these Pixel 9 Pro rumors are true.
